Residents of Edgemere are voicing concerns about a substance being dumped in a field behind Mickey’s Citgo in the 5100 block of North Point Boulevard. Edgemere resident William Tollberg said that a white tractor trailer recently came to the location and dumped this unknown substance. “Without ventilation, I don’t know what the hell I’m breathing,” Tolberg said. The substance is piled between 10 and 15 feet high and extends about the length of a football field.

“Dave,” a former Baltimore County police officer who asked not to be identified by name, said he was in the area and saw the commotion that included dump trucks bringing in a black substance. Dave said he called the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)and was told that the substance was a mineral called iron silicate. “It’s from the belly of a ship and it’s going to be here for four months,” Dave said. Tollberg added that a portion of the woodland on the site was destroyed so the material could be placed. “They cut up a bunch of trees and moved it to the side,” Tollberg said. “There is still a stack of wood back there.” Dave agreed and said there was concern among residents that wildlife such as foxes were found in the neighborhood, driven out by the destruction of the woods. According to Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, the property in which the iron silicate is located is owned by Camz Corporation. Company owner Arthur Campbell confirmed that the product came from a ship and is being stored temporarily before being shipped to Union Bridge in Carroll County. The material was originally to be placed at the Sparrows Point shipyard, but was moved to the field between the 5100-block of North Point Boulevard and North Snyder Avenue. Campbell said there is no cause for a health concern. “The iron silicate granular is dust-free and has no leaching,” Campbell stated. The MDE confirmed the existence of the iron silicate granulars and said that an investigation found the material to be safe. Jay Apperson, a spokesman for the MDE, said that many complaints were filed by Edgemere residents last Thursday and the MDE sent out representatives from the Land Management Administration and the Air Management Administration. The air inspector reported that the normal road dust was the only material found in the air. The land management inspector reported that the material will be placed only temporarily. The MDE is still waiting for results of water quality testing. “The information we got from the operators is this material is not waste and is not being dumped,” Apperson said. “It is scheduled to be sent out.” Apperson added this material will continue to be monitored. “We expect to go back there and check on the site in the future to make sure that the material will be sent out and not be used as waste,” he noted.